


Castle Rock

by notatruefan



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Christmas, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-24
Updated: 2013-12-24
Packaged: 2018-01-06 00:02:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1100103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notatruefan/pseuds/notatruefan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry Styles purchases a cottage in a small town in the north of England.  It is in dire need of renovations and he enlists his best friend Louis Tomlinson to help.  Neither of them realize how being in a small and secluded place will impact their relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Castle Rock

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shoestringjoe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shoestringjoe/gifts).



_“But something called us back, always called us back.  Back to Castle Rock.”_

“It’s perfect,” Harry said as he ran his hand lovingly along the low stone wall circling the property. “Where do I sign?”  
“Are you sure you don’t want to check out some of the other properties on the list first, Mr. Styles?” the plump real-estate agent shuffled around nervously. “This property needs extensive renovations--”  
Harry cut her off, too love struck to listen to her reason, “It doesn’t matter, it’s perfect.”  
“I’ll get the paperwork drawn up,” the real-estate agent said with a sympathetic smile as she turned back toward her car.  
Harry shoved his hands deep into his pockets, proud of himself over the purchase of the dilapidated cottage before him.  It was a low slung building that was nearly lost into the foliage and ivy that twisted into it’s thatched roof.  The only indication that there was any structure underneath the ivy were the square windows peeking out between the leaves and a stone pathway that led to an arched wooden doorway.  
Glancing back at the real-estate agent trying to get service on her cellphone Harry took the opportunity to explore the interior again on his own.  The hinges of the front door were a little sticky, but nothing he couldn’t fix himself with a little WD-40.  The first thing that hit him without the yammering woman to him was the quiet.  Not a silence so much, but an ethereal quiet peace that sunk into Harry as he walked around on the creaking floorboards.    
Plaster fell off the ancient stonework in haphazard chunks around the small room and cobwebs were suspended off nearly every exposed beam in the ceiling.  The cabinet doors in the kitchen were either missing or hanging off their hinges, and the appliances looked more like they belonged in a museum than in a person’s home.  In fact the only solid looking structure in the entire room was the large stone fireplace which the real-estate agent had pointed out was the only source of heat in the small cottage.  Even the fireplace looked sooty, indicating some sort of blockage in the chimney.  
But none of that mattered to Harry, all he saw was his quiet retreat.  Away from the fans and his family.  A place just for him.  And it was perfect.

\--

“You actually bought this piece of shit?” was the first thing out of Louis’s mouth as he first lay eyes on Harry’s little treasure.  
“Sure it needs a little work, but that’s why we just spent 5 hours going to lumber and hardware stores,” Harry said starting to unpack their haul from the boot of his car.  
“No.  The reason we just spent 5 hours in lumber and hardware stores is because we don’t actually know what we’re doing,” Louis said as he continued to stare at the small cottage, “Does it even have electricity?  Or running water?”  
Harry playfully shoved Louis with his shoulder as he walked past him, “Of course it does!  The real-estate agent wasn’t entirely sure when they were last updated...but Mr. Barnaby down the lane offered to help us if we needed anything. He used to be a contractor.  And how hard can it be to fix up an old place like this?”  
“I think it would be a lot easier to bulldoze this place than it would be to get it fixed up to livable conditions...why couldn’t you just find a nice flat in London like the rest of us?” Louis whined as he followed Harry into the dusty cottage.  
Harry dropped his construction supplies in the middle of the room with a frustrated grumble.  “Don’t you see Louis?” Harry said gesturing to the space around him, “We’re the youngest people within an 80 kilometer radius.  And the people in the nearest town couldn’t give a shit that you or I are in One Direction.”  
Louis shuffled uncomfortably on his feet as Harry flopped onto a sheet covered sofa, kicking up a fine cloud of dust around him.  Harry looked up at Louis, dejected, “I just want a place of my own, where I’m just Harry.  Not Harry from One Direction.  Not Harry, Anne’s son.  Just Harry.  And I think that’s this place, Louis.”  
Louis rubbed at the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable.  “You promised you’d help me, Louis,” Harry said in almost a whisper.  
Louis threw up his hands in exasperation. “That was before I knew this place was...this!” He gestured wildly around at the broken pieces of furniture.  
“Louis, please.” Harry said his eyes looking like they were about to fill up with tears.  
Louis let out a resigned sigh, “Alright.  You got me.  I’ll help.”  
Harry responded with a whoop of joy as he sprung up from the couch, upsetting the layer of dust once again, and pulling Louis into a tight hug, “Thank you Louis!  You won’t regret this!”  
“I’m pretty sure I will,” Louis groaned around Harry’s tight embrace, “But what else am I going to do during our break?  I’d just sit at home and get fat, at least here I might get some exercise.”  
“Thank you thank you thank you!” Harry said, jumping up and down like an excited small child.  
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Louis said waving Harry off. “Do you really think that we can get it all done before we go back on tour?”  
Harry was beaming from ear to ear, “Of course we can!  How hard can it be?”

 

Sometime after the two boys finished scraping the crumbling plaster off the walls of the kitchen, they lay on the floor, drenched in their own sweat, and came to a sudden realization.  “This is going to take more than one weekend, isn’t it Harry?” Louis huffed, a little out of breath.  
Harry sat up and wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand, “Maybe just like one or two more...”  
“Harry.  We’ve only scratched the surface of this renovation...literally!” Louis said sitting up as well, “And then there’s the bathroom and the bedroom...and we haven’t even started doing the floors...”  
“So...I’ll just come up here whatever chance I get.” Harry said shaking some plaster dust out of his hair, “Whenever we’re on break...”  
“Whatever, Harold, I need a drink,” Louis said with an affectionate eye roll as he got up and brushed the plaster dust off his pants.  Sauntering over to the small kitchen, Louis pulled out two beers from the refrigerator they had placed there just that morning.  
Handing Harry one of the beers, Louis took a long pull as he appraised their surroundings.  “So what all is on the renovation checklist?” Louis asked, sinking back onto the floor next to Harry and flashing him a smile. “Just so I know just how deep a mess I’ve gotten myself into.”  
“Well the cabinets need to be fixed...though they might just need new hinges and paint.  The floors need to be sanded and resealed.  The plaster refinished.  And I suppose eventually the bathroom needs to be re-grouted or re-tiled or whatever you do to bathrooms.”  
“Are you going to do anything about all that ivy around the house?” Louis asked as he took another pull from his beer.  
“I kind of like it,” Harry said giving a half smile, “I like how the house is all...covered up by the ivy, and you almost don’t know it’s there.  Like the house is a secret.”  
Louis nodded slightly in agreement. “Yeah,” he said, quietly looking up at the exposed beams, “I like it.”  
Something seemed to pass between the two of them.  It was akin to the many times they had been on tour, drunk off their asses, and a moment like this turned into something more.  A pounding, throbbing something more that demanded release.  The two lads shared a timid glance with one another, and it was clear that they had the same thing on their minds.  
“Well I should probably clean up,” Louis said, suddenly jumping to his feet, “Give your running water theory a test.”  
Harry snapped out of the particularly dirty train of thought his mind had derailed to.  “Uhh yeah, I suppose I’ll just sweep up all this plaster...make this place a little more presentable.”  
Harry watched Louis’s adam apple bob up and down as he dry swallowed.  Their eyes locked for a moment and Harry felt his mouth run dry.  “I’ll just take my whole bag, shall I?” Louis said suddenly as he swept up his overnight bag in his arms and dove into the bathroom doorway.  
As the door shut securely between them the tension brewing between them cut off.  Harry let out an audible sigh and hung his head.  He glanced over at their beer bottles.  Neither had even finished half of theirs.  Yet here they were, acting like all those drunken nights on tour.  A shared glance before they tried to subtly excuse themselves to bed.  Usually to their shared room.  
Harry stood up, finished the last of his beer, and reached for the broom, hoping the manual labor would shake Louis from his mind.  But sweeping wasn’t particularly distracting.  And even though they had made a pretty fair mess of it, the room was small.  
For further distraction Harry set about putting fresh sheets on the mattress in the small bedroom.  He and Louis had wrestled the bed frame and full mattress into the small room for the better part of the morning, and the prospect of sharing the small mattress with Louis tonight suddenly seemed very...intimate.  
Harry let out an exasperated breath as he set about pulling the fitted sheet into place, all the while listening to the sound of Louis showering in the background.  How could they have been so stupid?  How could they not have realized that in agreeing to share the bed this weekend they would in fact be sharing a bed?  
Fluffing the newly bought pillows and comforter, Harry heard Louis shut off the shower.  He should definitely not be so aware of what Louis was doing.  A couple minutes later Louis came sauntering out of the bathroom in a pair of pajama bottoms and a white tee as he toweled off his hair.  
“The shower’s all yours, mate,” Louis said, not making eye contact. “I think I’m just gonna hit the hay.”  
“Right,” Harry stumbled over his own feet as he beat a hasty retreat into the bathroom.  With any luck the hot water would have run out and Harry would be treated to a nice cold shower.  He was not disappointed.  
The lukewarm water rained down on Harry with a surprising amount of pressure for a cottage that seemed to be falling apart around him.  Though perhaps this was some sort of divine gift that not everything in his life should be falling apart.  And hey, at least that was one more thing off his list.  
Removing what he hoped was the last of the plaster, Harry dressed in a pair of boxers and tried to silently slink out of the bathroom.  Using the light from his phone, Harry managed to make his way back into the small bedroom without tripping over anything.  A feat that was pretty impressive for someone as clumsy as he was.  
Harry bobbled his phone in his hands as he caught sight of Louis curled up in his bed.  His back was towards Harry and he was clearly hugging the edge of the bed to take up as little space as possible, which just reminded Harry of the proximity they were about to share.  Harry took a shaky breath.  
This wasn’t the first time they had shared a bed, sexually or otherwise, so it was a mystery to Harry why he was getting so nervous.  It wasn’t like Louis was going to jump his bones in the middle of the night.  They were tired, and they only did that when they were drunk on tour and Louis hadn’t seen Eleanor in a while.  Though Harry was more scared by his own thoughts of how he would gladly accept such a proposition.  
Forcing himself to be brave Harry pulled his phone into the outlet near the bed and climbed under the covers.  Sending up a little prayer that any faulty wiring wouldn’t short circuit his phone, not that there was any wireless service to use it even, Harry forced himself to close his eyes and try to sleep.  Even though he was starting to realize, as he held onto the side of the bed rigidly, that that was probably unlikely.

 

Light streamed in from the curtainless windows, directly into Harry’s face.  He refused to wake up, he was too comfortable.  He nuzzled his face into the soft fabric of his pillow admiring his ability to select such quality sheets as his arms tightened around his pillow.  His pillow sighed contentedly.  
Harry’s eyes snapped open.  Something akin to horror spread through his body as he realized that he was not hugging his pillow to his face, but rather Louis.  To make matters worse, his leg was cast over one of Louis’s and they were touching from tip to toes.  Louis’s arm was draped around Harry’s torso while the other hand was tangled in his hair.  So at least Harry wasn’t the only culprit.  
Harry was torn.  On the one hand, he wanted to stay and snuggle deeper into this moment.  But on the other, he had Louis to think about.  Louis was never as comfortable with their shared liaison the next morning.  He usually brushed it off as some excuse.  The alcohol.  The late hour.  The time away from Eleanor.  Before he’d cut Harry off for some undisclosed amount of time.  
Harry wasn’t ready for Louis to cut him off, especially when he still needed his help on the cottage.  So it was with a heavy heart that Harry slide as carefully as he could out of Louis’s embrace.  Trying hard not to wake Louis, Harry snuck out of the bed intent on making some breakfast.  Casting only one glance over his shoulder Harry took a mental snapshot of Louis’s sleeping form.  Looking more peaceful than Harry had seen in a long time.  
In the early morning light, the common room of the cottage didn’t seem to look half as bad as Harry remembered.  The plaster was stripped clean from the boards on the walls, but besides that the cottage didn’t look half bad.  A little paint, a little stain, and maybe, just maybe...  
Running his fingers through his messy hair, Harry pulled the egg carton out of the refrigerator.  There hadn’t been much at the general store that Louis hadn’t scoffed at.  Namely the absence of frozen pizzas had been hard for Louis to overcome, but Harry had found the whole idea of cooking everything from scratch to be charming and had told Louis as much.  Louis, who had cooked a total of one meal in his entire life, a chicken wrapped in prosciutto dish that he still proudly referred to as “alright for a first try”, had decreed that if there were no instant meals to be had, Harry would be in charge of all their meals.  A task that Harry had warmed to immediately.  
Lighting the gas stove with a match Harry set to work on making scrambled eggs.  Removing a frying pan from one of the boxes he and Louis had brought in the previous day Harry tried to get the thought of Louis out of his head.  He was starting to feel like...maybe he cared for Louis as more than his best mate.  But for a boy that had never been in love, that was a terrifying thought.  Especially when he was sure that Louis could never return whatever feelings Harry thought he was having.  Harry wasn’t even sure they were feelings that he was having.  
Just as Harry turned off the stove he heard the soft pad of feet on the creaking floorboards.  Louis was up.  “Morning, Sleepyhead,” Harry called teasingly.  
“I don’t think I’ve ever slept so peacefully in my life!” Louis proclaimed as he stretched above his head and almost touched one of the exposed beams, “You might be on to something here, Styles.”  
Harry mumbled something in agreement but couldn’t make eye contact with Louis.  Seemed like Louis hadn’t noticed how intertwined they had been only a handful of minutes before.  “Breakfast is ready,” Harry said cheerfully after he composed his face to hide the thoughts he was having.  
“Sweet!  Have we got any plates?” Louis said pulling one of the rickety chairs out from the table.  
Harry tried to remember what box they packed the plates in.  For surely they had packed the plates.  Who would remember to pack a whisk, but not remember to pack plates?  “Uhh...” Harry looked at Louis blankly.  
Louis suddenly registered the look on Harry’s face, “You did pack the plates didn’t you?”  
More out of habit than anything Harry swiftly around and started haphazardly opening and closing cabinet doors.  Louis scoffed at Harry’s actions “Harry what do you think you’re doing?  Do you honestly think--”  
“Found them!” Harry proclaimed triumphantly pulling out the two dusty plates he had found in one of the cabinets.  Running them under the water, Harry gave Louis a cheeky smile, “See we didn’t need to bring plates, they already had them!”  
The two plates Harry had found were of a plain white porcelain.  The only markings on either plate were the two small crossed swords on the back, the insignia of the Castle Rock Porcelain Company.  Harry noticed all this in passing as he quickly dried the plates off on a rag and handed it off to Louis.  
Louis accepted the plate, fixing Harry with a knowing look, “Right, you knew all along that these plates were here and you didn’t just get really insanely lucky.”  
Harry winked at Louis as he started to dispense the eggs, “Exactly!  Or should I say...eggs-actly!”  
Louis let out an exaggerated groan.  “You keep this up, Styles, and I’ll leave before I can help you refinish these floors.”  
“You wouldn’t dare!” Harry gasped in mock horror.  
“Crack another egg pun and just you see,” Louis said stuffing a forkful of egg into his mouth.  
What started off as a snicker quickly turned into a boisterous laugh as Harry replayed over and over in his head what Louis had said.  It took Louis a minute to catch on before he too was laughing and yelling, “No!  I didn’t mean to say that!  I take it back!”  
But it was no use.  The two of them were lost.  And whatever tension Harry had felt building between them was, at least temporarily, gone.

\--

It had been almost three months since Harry had purchased his cottage in the north, and it was almost finished.  Harry and Louis had started to lovingly call it Castle Rock, after the plates that miraculously appeared in the cabinets.  It was a significant improvement to Louis’s original nickname ‘The Shit Hole’.  
Harry and Louis had spent nearly every weekend and free day they had gotten off working on it.  Screwing new hinges into the cabinets.  Sanding and sealing the wooden floors.  Calling an electrician to replace the circuit box after Louis blew every fuse in the house when he tried to use a hairdryer. Replacing the table and chairs after the table buckled under the weight of Harry leaning against the side of it.  Louis had had a good laugh about that one.  
Besides replacing the necessities, Harry hadn’t bothered with much furnishing.  He liked it that way.  Clean and quiet.  
Now it was the label’s annual Christmas party, and the boys of One Direction were obligated to attend.  Harry nursed a glass of apple juice, he and Niall making small talk with one of the higher up executives they only saw at events like this one.  “So do you lads have any plans for the holiday?” the portly older man asked.  
Niall shrugged, “Jus’ goin’ back to see me family for the holidays.  Theo will be walkin’ by now.”  
Harry swirled the apple juice around in his glass. “My mum is going to Robin’s family’s for Christmas and Gemma has a trip with her friends, so I was just going to go to my cottage up north.  Finish up some of the last projects...”  
“It’s so good to hear you boys having projects outside of the band.  Makes for some great press!  When do you think it’ll be ready for a press release?  You might even be able to make the center fold of Better Homes and Garden’s...”  
“Uhhh...” Harry shuffled uncomfortably on his feet, “I’m not sure it’ll ever be ready for...a press release.”  
“Oh really?  Why not hire a contractor--”  
“Uh Harry, why don’t you go get me another Guinness?  Can’t let an Irishman walk around with a dry glass,” Niall cut the executive off, “It’s disgraceful.”  
Harry gave Niall a relieved smile before taking his glass and diving in the direction of the bar.  He would be Niall’s personal bartender for the night if it meant not having to answer questions about his cottage.  That was his, and his alone.  
“Another Guinness please,” Harry instructed the bartender as he leaned against the bar.  
“Didn’t realize it was a Guinness kind of night for you Harry,” Louis’s teasing voice called over Harry’s shoulder.  
Harry turned to meet Louis’s beaming face as he sauntered closer.  “It’s not for me, it’s for Niall.  He got me out of a tricky question about Castle Rock.”  
Harry and Louis looked over to where Niall was showing the executive in question something on his phone.  If history was anything to go off of it was probably any of the thousands of pictures of Theo on his phone.  Or pictures of him hanging out with 5SOS.  It was hard to tell at this distance.  
“Niall’s a good lad,” Louis said looking soft, “So you plan on going home for the holidays?”  
“My mum and sister have plans, so I was going to head north to Castle Rock.  Finish up a couple of things,” Harry said a small smile, “You going back to Doncaster to see your family?”  
“I don’t know yet,” Louis said with a shrug, “Lottie and Fiz are going on a school trip, and my mum hasn’t decided which family to visit yet, so there might not be any family in Doncaster to visit.”  
“Well if you need somewhere to go, Castle Rock is always open to visitors,” Harry said cheekily as he took a sip of his apple juice.  
Louis playfully punched him in the arm, “You only want me there because you could use the help!”  
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t need it,” Harry smirked. “But you should spend the holidays with the people you love.”  
“Maybe I’ll go see Eleanor at Uni.” Louis signaled the bartender for a refill. “She’s been so busy this semester I feel like I haven’t seen her at all.”  
Harry tried to ignore the jealous pang in his chest when Louis mentioned Eleanor.  He had no reason to be jealous of her.  She was Louis’s girlfriend, and Harry was Louis’s...best mate.  They were too very different places in Louis’s heart, and so Harry had nothing to feel jealous about.  
“I better get Niall his beer.  I don’t think he can hold out much longer on Theo’s pictures alone,” Harry tossed over his shoulder as he made his way back toward Niall.  
“Poor sod’s probably withering away with his booze,” Louis called after Harry, “I’ll catch up with you later.”  
The rest of the party passed in a blur.  Harry handed Niall his drink then spent the rest of the evening chatting with some of the most boring people in the world.  Primarily, if he was being honest, to avoid Louis.  Louis wasn’t the type to chat up the executives at the Christmas parties, unless it was for a prank.  
When Harry had decided that he had stayed late enough to the party to not be considered rude, he ducked out to his car.  He was already packed for the occasion and had his suitcase in the boot of his car along with the last items from the hardware store he needed to complete his renovations.  
Harry was so intent on reaching Castle Rock as quick as he could, he didn’t realize he was speeding nearly 30 kilometers per hour over the speed limit on a number of occasions.  It didn’t come as any surprise to Harry that those moments seemed to correlate to the times his mind wandered to Louis.

 

Harry hadn’t bothered to check the time when he had finally collapsed in his bed at Castle Rock, but based on the fact he was still wearing most of his clothes from the night before it must have been closer to morning than night.  His shoes were kicked off somewhere near the side of the bed and he was twisted up in the once pressed button up shirt he had worn to the party.  
Groggily Harry sat himself up and took in his surroundings, the cottage had come a long way since when he’d first bought it.  All new plaster had been spackled and painted, the floors buffed and refinished, hinges oiled or replaced.  The only thing left was re-grouting the bathroom.  A task Harry hadn’t particularly been looking forward to.  
Having slept for most of the day Harry felt slightly guilty having a leisurely lunch, as it only meant he was procrastinating on the bathroom front.  He straightened the pillows on the sofa he had picked out with Louis.  Dusted the mantel even though there wasn’t any dirt.  Washed both of the Castle Rock plates even though he had only used one.  Though eventually Harry was forced to confront the bathroom.  
The bathroom was large enough to hold a large claw-foot tub, a small pedestal sink, and a toilet.  Besides the tile underfoot the bathroom had needed the least work out of the rest of the cottage, which was primarily why Harry had saved it for last.  The prospect of cleaning out the grout between all the small 2x2 tiles had been more intimidating than the rest of the property in Harry’s mind.  
The tool for the job was a small saw like tool that looked like a metal tooth brush.  Re-grouting the bathroom involved getting on your hands and knees and remove the old mildewy grout by sawing the little tool between the tiles so that the new grout could be lain.  It was tedious and tiresome, but it needed to be done.  
Getting on his hands and knees Harry set to work on the grout.  The mindless activity allowed his mind to wander, and much to his chagrin it wander to Louis.  He wondered what Louis was doing, and where he was.  Was he with his family or did he go visit Eleanor?  Harry’s stomach knotted at the idea of Louis seeing Eleanor, so he forced himself to imagine Louis at his mum’s house instead.  
He imagined Louis wearing some ridiculously over the top Christmas sweater that his nan would have knit him with a Santa hat.  He imagined Louis tickling his younger sisters and helping them make sugar cookies.  Louis would have helped his mum hang all the Christmas decorations because he was the tallest, and maybe he would have taken his sisters to pick out the tree.  And of course, since it was Louis’s birthday he would be fawned over by all his relatives.  Which of course Louis would adore.  
Without really even meaning to, Harry suddenly imagined what it would be like if Harry had gone with Louis to Doncaster for Christmas.  The food and the laughter and everyone sparkling with Christmas cheer.  Playing tag with Louis’s younger sisters and building snowmen.  Being lost among the crowd of Louis’s family and then suddenly finding himself under the mistletoe with...Louis.  His eyes all lit up from the festivities.  His cheeks pink from the alcohol and wool sweaters.  The way his lips would have parted ever so slightly as Harry leaned in--  
Harry snapped himself out of his daydream.  He couldn’t allow himself to think that way about Louis, regardless of what had happened between them on tour.  Louis was straight, and on top of that he was with Eleanor.  Thinking anything besides that would only get Harry’s heart into a heap of trouble.  Harry recommitted himself to the removal of the grout with a renewed fervor.

 

Harry stepped back and admired the newly grouted bathroom.  The entire room seemed to sparkle with the fresh grout and Harry couldn’t help but smile with pride.  Castle Rock was finished.  
Almost on cue there was a powerful knock on the front door followed but the sound of someone turning a key in the latch.  Harry was confused and went to investigate, the only other person with a key was--  
“Louis!” Harry cried with glee as he rushed to embrace his snow covered best mate.  
Louis returned the hug just as fiercely as Harry, “Did I surprise you?”  
“I thought you were going to see Eleanor over her winter break,” Harry said incredulously as he finally released Louis.  
Louis dusted off some more snow off his jacket as he explained, “Well I was going to, but then her family decided to go on holiday and I was sitting in Doncaster thinking all about my poor sod of a best mate all alone on Christmas Eve.”  
“But Louis, it’s your birthday!” Harry said looking concerned.  
“Yet another reason to be here with you,” Louis said plainly as rummaged around in the duffel bag, “And look I even brought my own present!”  
Louis hoisted a large bottle of champagne out of his bag.  “And your gift to me can be no more working on this shit hole during our nice holiday.”  
“Well actually,” Harry said beaming, “I just finished grouting the tile in the bathroom soooo there’s no more renovations to finish.”  
“All the more reason to celebrate!” Louis cheered as he popped the cork off of the champagne, “Goodbye forever, manual labor!”  
Harry laughed, “It wasn’t that bad!”  
Louis shrugged out of his coat and fixed Harry with a look, “You and I remember the flooding of the kitchen very differently...”  
“Okay,” Harry held up his hands in surrender, “You got me there.  That was a disaster.”  
“Exactly, and surviving this madness deserves a toast!” Louis called over his shoulder as he sought out the glasses from the cabinet, “And a pizza.  Harry could you go get the frozen pizza out of the car?”  
“You brought a pizza?” Harry asked smiling at Louis.  
“It’s my birthday!  And I for one want pizza.”

 

“Liam, Niall, Zayn” Harry listed off the three boys on his fingers.  
“I’d say...I’d have to marry Niall, fuck Zayn, and kill Liam...” Louis said after some pondering.  
“I’d probably do the same...” Harry said refilling his glass with champagne again, “Your turn.”  
“Alright...Simon Cowell, Tom Parker, or...Nick Grimshaw,” Louis said with a cheeky grin.  
Under the sparkly intoxication of the champagne the boys had snuggled up under a blanket on the sofa by the roaring fire.  What had started off as a tame game of Would You Rather, had quickly devolved into a sizzling game of Marry, Fuck, Kill.  
“I think I would have to...kill Tom Parker, marry Simon Cowell, and...fuck Grimmy,” Harry said as the bubbles of champagne tickled his nose.  
“He is such an arse,” Louis rolled his eyes dramatically, “I would marry Simon Cowell, fuck Tom Parker, and then kill Grimmy.”  
“What do you have against Grimmy?” Harry whined, “He’s one of my best mates, next to you of course.”  
Louis nose contorted in disgust, “He’s just such an arse, Harry!”  
“He only called you a whiny pop star,” Harry said with a playful eye roll, “That’s just who Grimmy is!  And it’s not like he was wrong...”  
Louis playfully smacked Harry’s arm, “Harold Edward Styles!  I am ashamed of you.  Who would you rather be with?  Grimmy or me?”  
Harry looked at Louis his mind muddled by all the champagne, “What do you mean Louis, you’re my best mate!”  
“No I mean, would you rather...fuck Grimmy or me?” Louis said plainly.  
Harry nearly snorted the champagne he was sipping.  Louis was looking at him in all seriousness, his cheeks tinted pink from the alcohol and his hair a wild mess from playing with it.  Harry’s brain nearly turned off, “You of course, Louis.”  
Louis flipped on onto his knees and started to crawl towards Harry, “And if given the chance to kiss me...or Grimmy, who would you pick?”  
Louis was crowding into Harry’s personal space, and he most certainly couldn’t think straight when the smell of Louis’s shampoo was teasing his nose.  Gulping nervously Harry whispered, “Y-you Louis.”  
“Good,” Louis hummed only a breath away from Harry, “Because otherwise this next bit would have been pretty awkward...”  
Louis’s lips brushed Harry’s gently as he closed the space between them.  Without really meaning to, Harry’s fingers brushed along Louis’s jawline to slide into the soft hair at the back of Louis’s head.  Louis took this as an invitation to deepen the kiss, fisting Harry’s shirt in his hands and pulling him closer as he straddled Harry’s lap.  
Harry’s hands released their grip on Louis’s hair to instead slide up and under Louis’s shirt, encouraging Louis to remove it.  Louis obliged and then tugged Harry’s shirt over his head as well.  With his chest now exposed Louis began an exploration of Harry chest with first his fingers, followed closely by his mouth.  It was all Harry could do to grab a fistful of Louis’s hair as Louis’s fingers toyed with the zipper to Harry’s jeans which were beginning to bulge over Harry’s groin.  
“What are you doing, Lou?” Harry asked breathlessly staring down at Louis who was starting to work Harry’s jeans down his hips.  
“I’m giving you your Christmas present,” Louis said huskily as he looked up at Harry through the fringe of his lashes, his eyes more pupil than iris.  
Before Harry could even think of protesting, Louis yanked the only remaining barrier between the two of them down.  Harry’s boxers.  Harry shivered with awareness at the colder air and the knowledge of what Louis was about to do.  
“L-Louis,” Harry shuddered as Louis ran his hot tongue along Harry’s length, his eyes rolling back, “Oh God, Louis...”  
“Mhmm?” Louis teased flicking his tongue over the tip of Harry’s shaft.  
“Please, Louis,” Harry moaned, “Please...”  
Without a word Louis slipped his mouth over Harry’s cock and down as far as he could go.  His tongue rolled along Harry’s length, stirring groans of pleasure from deep inside Harry.  Harry arched his back off the sofa calling out for Louis, an act that only caused the mischievous look on Louis’s face to grow.  
“Oh god Louis, I’m going to--” Harry whispered huskily.  
Louis immediately stopped his ministrations and leaned back from a whimpering Harry.  “Oh no you’re not.  Not yet,” Louis said darkly.  
Harry watched hungrily as Louis stripped out of his pants and underthings, tossing them to the side.  He didn’t need encouragement to struggle out of his own skinny jeans and boxers.  Harry bit his lip with excitement as he watched Louis’s eyes roam over his naked body.  
“Louis,” Harry whispered holding out his hand.  
Louis took his hand and intertwined their fingers.  Holding their joined hands over Harry’s head his other hand working inside Harry.  Harry starts gulping in oxygen like a drowning man, rocking his hips along to Louis’s rhythm.  
“L-Lou, I can’t take anymore,” Harry groaned as he bit the inside of his lip.  
With a wicked glint in his eyes Louis leaned back down to kiss Harry, grazing his teeth over Harry’s lower lip.  Only then did Louis give Harry the satisfaction the both of them wanted.    
Harry was lost.

\--

Harry held the 8x11 frame lovingly in his hands.  It was a picture of him and Louis from one of their recent trips up to Castle Rock.  Louis was making a goofy face as Harry stared lovingly down at him.  Harry wanted it to sit on the mantle over the fireplace.  
It had been nearly 6 months since that fateful Christmas night, but Harry still treasured it deep in his heart.  Harry had awoken to the feeling of Louis playing with the tangled curls on his head.  Their limbs were entangled amongst each other and the sheets, Harry’s head resting on Louis’s chest listening to the steady rhythm of Louis’s heart.  
“Do you want me to leave?” Harry whispered against Louis’s skin, his eyes already burning at the thought.  
“No,” Louis’s arms tightened around Harry, “Let’s just stay here for a while.”  
Harry tightened his grip around Louis’s torso, both thrilled by the prospect of staying where he was and terrified by the moment that would inevitably come and Louis would push him away in disgust of himself.  
That moment never came.  
Soon it was Louis asking Harry when the next time they could sneak away to Castle Rock was.  Louis cuddling into Harry’s side in the mornings after.  Louis smiling more when he mentioned the two of them together.  
Harry couldn’t help but acknowledge the warm sparkly feelings inside him.  He was in love with Louis, and during their next trip to Castle Rock he was going to tell him.  His lips quirked up at just the thought of it.  
“Hey Harry, could I ask you something?” the quiet voice called from behind him.  
Harry turned to find Eleanor Calder beaming at him, “Oh hi Eleanor, what did you want to ask me?”  
Eleanor shyly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, “Well, it’s just...Louis is always talking about your cottage up north, and I was just wondering if you’d ever let Louis and I borrow it?”  
Harry spoke without thinking through the ramifications, “Well Louis has a key, and he did do half of the renovation work, so I suppose he can go whenever he likes.”  
“Oh thank you, Harry!” Eleanor said pulling Harry into a tight hug, “I’ll go and tell Louis right away.”  
As Eleanor practically skipped away from Harry a cold feeling spread through him from the pit of his stomach.  In all the months he and Louis had been gallivanting off to Castle Rock he had almost forgotten about Eleanor.  Louis almost never mentioned her, especially when they were up north and Harry had been in such a love fest he had almost forgotten about her.  
Harry numbly pulled out his phone and dialed the familiar number.  He didn’t even give Louis the chance to speak, “Why do you want to bring Eleanor to Castle Rock?  That’s our place.”  
There was a long sigh on Louis’s end, “Harry...She’s been asking about it.  I couldn’t exactly say that it was our secret place could I?”  
“Well why not!?” Harry huffed angrily feeling tears burn his eyes.  
“You know why Harry...” Louis said his voice full of resignation, “I’m not ready for everyone to know...about us seeing each other.”  
“We’re doing a lot more than just seeing each other, Louis,” Harry hissed into the phone.  
“I know that,” Louis’s voice was heavy with guilt, “but I can’t let Eleanor know that!  Or anyone else really...”  
“So what are you saying?” Harry dabbed at the tears running down his face, “That you have to keep seeing her?  Are you still sleeping with her too?”  
“I told you Harry, I can’t let Eleanor know anything’s up.  It can’t seem like anything is out of the ordinary...”  
“So all this time?  The whole time!?”  
It was silent on Louis’s end for a long while.  Harry checked his phone a couple times to see if he had lost the connection.  “Louis?  Are you still there?”  
“There’s something else Harry...” Louis said slowly.  
Harry’s heart sank.  What else could there possibly be?  Was Eleanor pregnant or something?  
“I’m going to propose to Eleanor when we go to Castle Rock.” Louis said numbly.  
Ice clenched around Harry’s heart.  At least if Eleanor had gotten pregnant Louis wouldn’t have been entirely at fault.  Pregnancy could be an accident.  But a proposal required intent.  
Harry couldn’t listen to the whatever excuse Louis was trying to give.  He hung up.  He needed to get away.  
But what place did he have now?

 

“Harry!  Now this is a pleasant surprise!” Nick Grimshaw exclaimed as he opened his flat door.  
Harry swayed on his feet and nearly dropped the half finished bottle of whiskey in his hand.  “Can I comin?” Harry slurred as he tried to focus on one of the 3 swirling Grimmys.  
Grimmy suddenly registered Harry’s drunken state and became very concerned, “Of course you can, Harry.  Come in.”  
Grimmy guided Harry over to the sofa and managed to wrestle the bottle out of his hand.  “So what do I owe this visit to?” Grimmy smiled encouragingly at Harry.  
“Grimmy, I want to give you a blow job,” Harry mumbled as he pushed himself toward where Grimmy was sitting.  
Harry’s fingers fumbled around Grimmy’s belt buckle and it wasn’t until he had managed to unlatch the belt itself that Grimmy realized what was happening.  “Harry!  What are you doing?” Grimmy brushed Harry’s insistent hands off.  
“W-what’s a blow job between friends?” Harry asked with a shrug before making another grab for Grimmy’s pants.  
Grimmy grabbed hold of Harry’s wrists to restrain him.  “Harry as much as I’d like to take you up on your offer...It would be wrong for me to take advantage of you when you’re like this.”  
“You don’t want me to give you a blow job?” Harry asked his eyes filling with tears.  
Grimmy looked conflicted but then shook his head, “No Harry.  I couldn’t.”  
“But he’s still having sex with her, Grimmy, so why can’t I have sex with you?” Harry whimpered.  
“Who is Hazza?” Grimmy asked sinking down to Harry’s level.  
“Louis!” Harry blubbered, “He’s still having sex with Eleanor!  Even though he’s been with me.  And I’m in love with him.”  
Grimmy let out a low whistle, “This is going to take more than a cup of tea isn’t it?”  
Harry let out a wail and flung his arms out around Grimmy’s neck, blubbering into his shoulder.  Nick managed to quiet him down enough to tuck him into the sofa with a blanket so that he could put the kettle on.  With the water heating up he turned his attention back to the miserable Harold on the sofa.  
“So I’m assuming there’s some sort of backstory to you ending up drunk off your arse on my doorstep, am I right?” Nick asked as gently as he could.  
Once Harry started, it was hard to stop.  The cottage.  The renovations.  His first Christmas with Louis.  All of it tumbled out in an intoxicated jumble of stories that didn’t follow any linear track.  Grimmy nodded at the appropriate times and kept Harry from spilling his hot tea over himself, and when it was all finished Grimmy said, “That Louis can be a right prick sometimes.  You can stay for as long as you need, Hazza.”  
Harry nodded miserably as he snuggled under the blanket Grimmy had given him.  “Don’t say that about him...” Harry mumbled sleepily.  
“I’ll call him anything I like, including a prick.  Which he is,” Grimmy stated simply.  
“He just doesn’t want anyone to know,” Harry sighed sadly, “That doesn’t necessarily make him a prick.”  
“You are too kind, Harry,” Grimmy pat Harry’s head as he turned off the lights, “He’s a whiny pop star and everyone knows it.  Now get some sleep, Hazza.  You’re in for one hell of a hangover tomorrow.”

Harry woke up to the sound of his phone drilling into his eardrums.  His head was pounding and it felt like his stomach was trying to turn itself inside out.  Blindly, Harry reached for his phone and answered it with a groggy “Hello?”  
“Harry did you see what that prick of a DJ got trending again?  Louis the whiny pop star!  And on top of that he also got ‘Louis the spotted prick’ trending!” Louis’s shrill voice grated inside Harry’s throbbing head.  
“Could you please not speak so loud, Louis?” Harry begged rubbing at his temple.  
“Where are you, Harry?” Louis demanded, “I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”  
“I spent the night at Grimmy’s,” Harry rasped into the phone.  
There was a measured silence.  “Are you trying to punish me, Harry?” Louis’s voice was even, “Are you trying to punish me for Eleanor?”  
Harry sat up, forcing himself to keep the contents of his stomach down, “I’m not trying to punish you Lou--”  
“Like hell you aren’t!” Louis screeched into the speaker causing Harry to hold his phone at arms length, “You know how I feel about that guy!  You only slept with him to get back at me.”  
Despite his hangover Harry felt his temper rising and he spat into the speaker, “Nick has been nothing but kind and generous.  He was there for me when I needed him, and he would choose me Louis.  That’s more than you’ve ever done for me.”  
It was a pretty crude thing to say but Harry wasn’t feeling his best and the last 24 hours had put him in the sourest of sour moods.  He didn’t bother to listen or wait for Louis’s response but hung up and turned off his phone.  He didn’t want to hear any of Louis’s excuses.  
“Who was that?” Grimmy’s voice called from the kitchen.  
“Who do you think it was?” Harry leaned back into the sofa, “Louis.”  
“Ahhh,” Grimmy sounded smug as he brought in two steaming mugs of tea, “And what did the little bugger want?”  
“I think you know already,” Harry said shooting a look at Grimmy, “You called him a ‘spotted prick’”  
“I think he got his ‘just deserts’” Grimmy chuckled into his tea.  
“What am I going to do with you?” Harry sighed, “Is this how Ed felt when Taylor and I broke up?”  
“Probably, but I’m a lot better looking than Taylor,” Grimmy said patting Harry’s knee as he got up from the sofa.  
“One of these days your humor is going to get you into trouble Grimmy!” Harry called after him.  
“And how shall I be punished?” Grimmy called teasingly, “Be forced to console drunk pop stars when they have a tiff with their lover?  Somehow I don’t think it’ll be so bad.”  
That got a small smile out of Harry, who then went back to nursing his tea and his hangover.

\--

Harry spent a week on Grimmy’s couch, until the day that Grimmy came home bearing what he was terming ‘double bad news’.  The first: Louis was back from his holiday with Eleanor.  The second: That they had announced their engagement.  
Harry had only one thought.  He needed to go to Castle Rock.  
Despite every argument Grimmy had, Harry wouldn’t see reason.  He just needed to go to his cottage one last time before the tour started.  One last trip to remember a time when he was happy, before Louis had broken his heart.  And so eventually Grimmy gave up arguing and instead wished Harry off as he made the drive up north.  
Harry hadn’t turned his phone on during the whole time he had been at Grimmy’s, afraid of the calls from Louis.  But it was selfish of him to isolate himself, especially when there were other people in the world that cared about him.  
As expected the first couple missed calls were from his mum.  Informing him that Grimmy had called her, and that he should call her when he was feeling better.  A couple from the lads saying similar things, and saying they were looking forward to the tour.  The last one being from Eleanor.  
“Hi Harry!  Such a crazy weekend, right?” her recorded voice sounded excited, “I just wanted to thank you again for lending us your cottage.  It was really sweet of you.  As a thank you, I had a man stop by to give you a little thank you present.  You’ll see it next time you’re in town.  Lots of love, cheers!”  
Harry stared at his phone.  What on Earth did she mean?  Harry decided to put it out of his mind.  He would find out soon enough.  A glance at his phone told him all he needed to know, he had almost lost signal.  
Not long after Harry rounded the bend to the driveway to his cottage.  He could almost feel the magic of the cottage relaxing him already.  Just a couple more meters and--  
Harry stomped on the brakes as the cottage came into view.  He had been so startled he almost didn’t believe his own eyes.  Suddenly it was very clear what Eleanor’s gift had been.  
She had had all the ivy cut down.

\--

“So Harry has the band dynamic changed since Louis’s engagement to longtime girlfriend Eleanor Calder?” the interview asked.  
Harry looked to Zayn, who had partnered with him on this interview, “I would say that not much has changed.  In the same way that not much changed when Zayn and Perrie got engaged.  We’re all still best mates.”  
The two lads were on the radio for an interview in one of the cities their tour had stopped in.  All the lads had been spread out across the city for various press events.  Management must have noticed something was wrong between Louis and Harry, because they had avoided pairing them together for the whole duration of tour.  
“One more question for you, Harry, before the tour started you were living in BBC 1’s Nick Grimshaw’s flat.  There’s been a lot of speculation that the two of you are secretly dating.  Is there any sort of announcement in the works?”  
This hadn’t been the first time Harry had been asked this question in the months since their tour started.  Radio hosts and interview all across the globe were hoping to be the one to break the news of Harry’s coming out.  “No, it’s nothing like that.” Harry said with an innocent smile, “I was just having some renovations down at my place and Grimmy was kind enough to take me in until the tour started.  I would have stayed with one of the lads but with the tour coming up I didn’t want them to get sick of me.”  
“We could never get sick of you, Harry,” Zayn reassured him as the interviewer cooed with delight.  
“So since this is the last stop on the tour, what do the boys of One Direction have planned for the holidays?” the interview changed the subject.  
“Well Perrie and I were gonna go visit her family for Christmas, and then mine for New Years,” Zayn said plainly.  
“And what does Ladies man Styles have planned?” the interviewer waggled their eyebrows at him, “Planning on kissing a lot of girls under the mistletoe?”  
Harry managed a half laugh, “The only girl I plan on kissing this Christmas is my mum.  I think I’ll just be spending the holidays with my family this year.”  
“You heard it here first ladies, Harry Styles is off the table for mistletoe kisses this year,” the radio host teased.  
Harry managed not to roll his eyes at her for the comment, and politely thanked her for having them on the show.  
As Zayn and Harry walked out of the studio together Zayn turned to him and said, “Do you plan on spending Christmas with Louis again?”  
Harry stopped in his tracks and turned to Zayn trying to play the innocent, “I don’t know what you mean.  Louis and I are each seeing our families for--”  
“Harry, the lads and I know.” Zayn said flatly, “We’ve always known.”  
Harry let out a sigh, “I mean...I guess I always figured you lads knew to some extent, but how much did you actually know?”  
“Everything.  Too much.” Zayn said with a sigh of his own, “You boys aren’t particularly hard to read.”  
“Then you know that we’ve had a falling out, and that Louis’s engaged,” Harry said shoving his hands into his pockets.  
“You had a falling out because he got engaged,” Zayn clarified, “But that doesn’t change the fact that you love him.”  
Harry’s cheeks heated up, “What does it fucking matter if I do?  It wouldn’t change a thing!  Louis is still engaged.  And he still doesn’t want people to know that he and I were seeing each other.”  
“Look it’s none of my business, but you two used to be best mates,” Zayn’s voice flared slightly with his temper, “Maybe you don’t realize it, but Louis is just as much in love with you as you are with him.  The two of you are miserable, and it’s making it hard to be confined to a tour bus with the you.”  
Harry felt something akin to a spark of hope in his chest.  “W-what should I do?”  
“Tell him that you love him,” Zayn looked like he wanted to shake Harry, “Make him see that you are the one he should be with.  Regardless of whatever media hell storm he is afraid is going to happen.”  
“But how do I do that?” Harry looked confused.  
“Look I’ve meddled enough.  I shouldn’t even have said anything,” Zayn said rubbing wearily at his temples, “I’m just getting sick of seeing the two of you moping everywhere we go.”  
Zayn turned and continued in the direction of where their car was waiting for them.  It was clear that the subject of ‘confessing his love for Louis’ was now closed.  Harry was left with no choice but to follow Zayn, and try to think of a way to tell Louis how he felt.

 

Once again it was the label’s annual Christmas party and One Direction was compelled to attend.  Harry still hadn’t thought of a good way to convince Louis to choose him over Eleanor or even how to tell him his feelings.  Harry had given himself until the Christmas party to figure out a way, but he still had nothing.  This was particularly difficult because there was only so long he could hide from Louis in the crowd.  Eventually he’d have to face him.  
Harry’s whole body was vibrating from the tension, and the hand raising his gin and tonic to his lips was particularly bad.  The fact that his glass was empty was just another stress fraying his nerves.  
Turning to go refill Harry nearly crashed into Louis.  Louis himself only barely managed to escape the spill of his drink down the front of his shirt.  “Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” Harry heard himself say.  
“Don’t worry, no harm no foul.” Louis appraised his spilled drink on the floor, “Looks like only the floor got wet.”  
They shared a timid laugh.  “I was actually just going to the bar for a refill myself,” Harry said shyly, “Would you like to join?”  
“I suppose I’d better,” Louis chuckled, “These events are always unbearable without alcohol.”  
The pair walked over to the bar in silence, the only words they exchanged were their orders with the bartenders.  There were a few orders ahead of them, and so they were signaled that they would be helped in a minute.  The silence forced small talk between the two lads.  
“So...um.  Do you have any plans for the holiday?” Harry asked.  
“Um, no.  Not really,” Louis shrugged, “Just the usual I guess.”  
A long awkward silence stretched between them.  “Actually,” Harry started, “I was thinking of spending Christmas up at Castle Rock.”  
Louis’s ears picked up on the familiar term, “All by yourself then?”  
“Castle Rock is always open for visitors...” Harry said slowly, “So if you’d like to visit...”  
“I’d like that,” Louis said with a small smile, “It’d be nice to get away from the big city for Christmas...”  
Harry felt his courage starting to build.  This was the perfect chance to tell Louis how he had fallen in love with him during their time at Castle Rock, “Louis there’s something I wanted to tell you.  About us--”  
“No!” Louis hissed, “Not here, not yet.”  
Harry furrowed his brow, his temper flaring toward Louis, “Louis I just wanted to say--”  
Louis cut him off by taking Harry’s hand in his, “No.  Not here.  The things I want to say to you Harry, and I suspect what you want to say to me...there are some things I need to take care of first.  Save them for Castle Rock.”  
Their drinks chose that moment to appear, and for a moment they were temporarily cut off from their discussion.  The bartender turned away and before Harry knew what was happening Louis had planted a kiss on his lips.  It happened so quickly Harry wasn’t entirely sure he hadn’t dreamed it.  Louis had already grabbed his drink and dove back into the crowd of guests.    
None appeared to have witnessed Harry and Louis’s first public kiss.

 

It had been nearly 6 months since Harry had last been to Castle Rock.  He hadn’t had it in him to stay the last time he came.  Seeing the cottage so exposed and bare had been too much for him, and he suddenly realized he didn’t want to go in.  He didn’t want to walk the familiar floorboards where he and Louis had been so happy and wonder, ‘Where had Louis proposed to Eleanor?’  
Now he was standing once again in front of his beloved Castle Rock.  The ivy had started to grow back and fluffy snow hid the nearly all the thatched roof.  The dark windows stared out at Harry like it was looking at an old friend.  How could Harry even for a moment think that Castle Rock could be ruined?  
Due in part to his long absence, there was a lot of work to do to fill the time.  Dusting, sweeping, changing the linens.  It was amazing the amount of work that could accumulate in 6 months.  But soon Harry’s busywork ran out.    
It had taken Harry the better part of the day and evening to clean Castle Rock, but with it finished Harry had nothing better to do besides fiddle with the fire in the fireplace.  As he prodded the logs with the poker Harry thought of Louis’s request to have cable and a television installed.  Harry had refused, and for most of their visits they had been too preoccupied with other activities to even think of needing a television.  It was moments like this Harry wished he hadn’t been so set against having those sorts of modern luxuries.  
Harry nearly gave himself whiplash when there was a tentative knock on the door.  His palms were sweaty as he closed the distance to the door in a few strides.  Without checking who it was first Harry swung open the door.  “Louis,” breathed as his eyes landed on the shivering lad.  
Louis brushed past him to go and warm up in front of the fire, “My heater broke a half hour ago.” Louis explained as he rubbed his hands together, “I about lost all my fingers to frostbite.”  
Harry shut the door and joined Louis by the fire, “I was starting to think you weren’t coming...”  
“Well if you’re God forsaken cottage was actually anywhere civilized, you would have gotten at least one of a dozen phone calls from me as braved the blizzard out there,” Louis said with his usual sass.  
Harry smiled as he shared the companionable silence with Louis as he warmed up.  It was nice just to have his best friend with him again.  “Louis, I wanted to tell you something...” Harry started.  
“No,” Louis cut him off, “I want to say something first.”  
Harry looked at Louis incredulously, but he nodded.  “I called off the engagement,” Louis said slowly.  
Harry could hear his heart pounding in his ears and for a brief moment he stopped breathing.  “Louis, I--” Harry choked out.  
“No, let me say this,” Louis said turning toward Harry, “Those first months here at Castle Rock were some of the best of my life, and I was an idiot to throw it all away.”  
He looked up at Harry with moisture in his eyes, “I was scared.  I’ve spend my whole life thinking I was one way, and then you waltz into my life and...change everything.”  
Harry’s own eyes were starting to burn with tears as Louis looked down at the space between their feet. “I know that you’ll probably never be able to forgive me, but...I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t tell you...”  
Louis took a deep breath, “Harry I...I love you.”  
This way one of those times in Harry’s life that everything seemed to freeze around him.  His knees locked and his breath caught in his throat, and he was so dizzy that he thought he might pass out.  “H-Harry are you okay?” Louis placed a steadying hand on his shoulder.  
With superhuman speed Harry pulled Louis to him for a passionate kiss.  Tears slid unabashed down his cheeks as he held Louis fiercely to him.  Louis slid his arms around Harry’s neck and held him as close as he could.  It wasn’t long until his own tears were mixing with Harry’s.  
“That’s all I wanted to hear you say,” Harry sniffled as he broke off the kiss, “I’ve wanted to hear you say it for so long, because I’m...I’m in love with you.”  
“What about Grimmy?” Louis asked tentatively.  It was clear from the look on his face that he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer, but he needed to know.  
“He’s just a friend,” Harry rested his forehead against Louis’s.  
“But you spent a week at his house.” Louis reasoned, “He got ‘spotted prick’ trending for you.”  
Harry shook his head with a small smile as he tightened his grip on Louis, “Nothing happened.  I was drunk and Grimmy...very graciously, took care of me.  The ‘spotted prick’ was his own decision.”  
“I don’t suppose I’ve helped my case with Grimmy very much have I?” Louis winced.  
“Not by a long shot...” Harry said slowly, “The engagement to Eleanor just might have put the nail in the coffin on that one.”  
They were quiet for a moment, lost in their own thoughts, when Louis whispered, “You know, I didn’t do it here.”  
Harry’s ears perked up and it looked down at Louis with a serious face, “What?  What do you mean?”  
Louis couldn’t look at Harry but instead looked somewhere over the mantle.  “This was our place you know?” Louis mumbled, “And so I couldn’t bring myself to...spoil it.  So I--”  
“Yes?” Harry hands twisted into Louis’s shirt.  
“I--I proposed to her inside the grocery store in town,” Louis said in a rush.  
Harry’s mouth dropped open.  “I really am the least romantic person on the face of the Earth,” Louis looked up at Harry full of shame.  
Harry started to laugh.  It started as a snicker but the more he tried to resist it the more it bubbled out of him.  Before he could control it he was bent over clutching his stomach nearly in tears because he was laughing so hard.  
“It’s not funny!” Louis stomped his foot, turning pink in the face.  
“It is!  It really is!” Harry gasped between his giggles, “Louis Tomlinson.  The least romantic person on Earth.  Cooked one meal for his girlfriend.  And then proposes to her in a grocery store.  I’m surprised she said yes!”  
Louis rubbed the back of his neck, “I suppose it was sort of a miracle she said yes.  I wasn’t exactly the best boyfriend...”  
“Says the man that just braved a blizzard in order to come see me at Christmas,” Harry said looking soft at Louis.  
“I suppose it comes out of you when it’s for the right person...” Louis said with a small smile.  
Harry took one of Louis’s hands in each of his larger ones, “And am I the right person?”  
“Definitely.”  
“I love you Lou, Merry Christmas.”  
“I love you too. Merry Christmas, Harry.”

**Author's Note:**

> The inspiration for the title of this piece came from the song "Castle Rock" by Barnaby Bright. It is heartbreakingly beautiful, and captures some of the feel I wanted this story to have. I hope you enjoyed Castle Rock!


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